Learning Activity 1
The basic assumptions that an organizations holds forms the basis of an organization's culture. These assumptions can be deeply enmeshed in the culture of an organization so much so that they may even go unnoticed. Yet, at the same time, the basic assumptions are in fact the essence of what makes up a culture. But basic assumptions are the essence of culture. As such, they are the real truths of organization's lived principles. Assumptions are the line which squares itself against espoused values and artifacts. An example of an assumption held in a working call center in a large internet shoe retail organization is that outstanding customer service results in customer loyalty. T(Burkus, 2014) his assumption is so firmly rooted in the culture that organizational employees will go as far as to send inquiring customers to other competitor retailers if they are unable to meet the client's needs.
Artifacts have to do with physical manifestations and or observable characteristics of organizational culture. This may include reward systems, company office space, how people dress. (“8.3 Understanding Organizational Culture | Principles of Management,” n.d.) Artifacts are a threshold, albeit superficial which can be looked into and penetrated in order to gain a full understanding the appearance and essence of the organization.
Espoused values, like artifacts, are the public display shelf of the organization. They are essential parts to a culture, yet they are not the sum total. Just as an individual person may have a public persona or face he shows to the rest of the world, he also has a private interior world. (“8.3 Understanding Organizational Culture | Principles of Management,” n.d.) These worlds may at times even be in contradiction or discord with one another. A company like Enron for instance, is known to have had a 64 page manual espousing mission and core values in circulation at the time the enormous scandal broke out. (Burkus, 2014)The espoused values published in this manual acted as a guiding principle and a target, so some deviation in the individual behaviors of the organizational unit may be expected. The measure in which Enron's criminal practices were revealed reflect a case of true irony and remind us that espoused values statements are little more than hot air if management does not actively work to corral and lead the organization down the right path.
Learning Activity 2
Researchers working in the field of Organizational Behavior and related areas have developed psychometric tools in order to empirically profile organizational cultures based on assumptions, artifacts and values. One of these tools is the The Organizational Cultural Assessment Instrument (OCAI) developed by researchers Cameron and Quinn in 2006. Its stated purpose is to assist organizations with defining their culture in the present as well as identifying the preferred culture, which is the projected goal for the future. The battery test is deployed using simple survey methodology. Organizations can then utilize these results to assess both the current cultural state and also to identify gaps between current and desired futures. OCAI method originated in the 1970s and is based on early and evolving research on assessment tools for organizational indicators.
OCAI looks at the competing values in an organization and considers the dominant characteristics, organizational leadership style, as well as six other key dimensions. The OCAI instrument was amazingly accurate in its ability to reflect the transitional state of the organization profiled. The questions were able to extract some of the dominant issues facing the mature industry and that is making changes in a profound way that business is taken. Right now, this move is shifting the way the organization has traditionally always done business. What used to be a position based organizational climate that included clients, contractors, suppliers and which was tied to dynamics of normal employer employee relations.
The OCAI identified some major pressing issues in the immediate viewing frame of senior management. This business transition that the company was facing was a survivalist response to an ever growing mature marketplace. Existing managers were traditionally trained in engineering and scientific disciplines and strategic management as well as leadership and change practices or knowledge of growing research in academic business literature as well as pure field or industry exposure to these situations were virtually absent from the existing staff. This values difference created a reality. The management identified the need to manage people against resources. The OCAI also reflected the fact that the company aiming to define its true cultural identity in order to develop a good strategy for development and growth.
Learning Activity 3 For this exercise I considered Saudi Arabia in comparison with the United States. I found that Saudi Arabia scores extremely high on the power dimension scale of 95. Compared with the United States, individualism is very low, as Saudi Arabia is inherently a collectivist society with a score of 25. Saudi Arabia relies heavily on its tradition of tribal leadership. Power Distance is defined as the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. This represents a degree of inequality but is defined from the bottom not the top. It makes the suggestion that the level of inequality in a society is completely agreed upon by follows as much as by leaders. Power and inequality are simply fundamental facts of any society. It suggests that a society's level of inequality is endorsed by the followers as much as by the leaders. Power and inequality, of course, are extremely fundamental facts of any society. Learning Activity 4 Leadership and culture, performance and culture. Culture is customs and rights. Good managers must work from a more anthropological model. Each org has its own way and an outsider brings his/her baggage as observer. Understand new environment and culture before change or observation can be made. Culture is the accumulated shared learning from shared history. All groups must deal with problems in survival, growth, and adaptation in environment, internal integration that permits functioning and adapting. Culture may be understood as the basic and shared assumptions that a group learns over time as it solves its own problems from the ground up which include problems of adapting to the external environment as well as integrating. These ideas, practices and norms which proved successful and valid then become best practices which are handed down and distributed among members as correct ways for one to think and feel. Culture is what explains that which is not comprehensible and includes the irrational. Culture, interestingly, is not present in each group. It is only with organizations which have a history that are able to have a culture. Yet, it is culture that, once it exists, is what determines the proper criteria for leadership. The take away from this systematic understanding is that leaders must be conscious of culture or else culture will manage them.
Based on the discussion of life cylce and culture, I consider my organization to be in a mature stage of its life cycle. As such, it is struggling to adapt to the needs of the contemporary environment and organizational changes have appeared in an ad hoc fashion as temporary adaptations over the past 2 years but which are waiting on systematic identification and change management. Management, also, is suffering from a lack of leadership in their own career life cycle experience where they do not have a frame of reference to properly implement the changes needed in a streamlined and effective way.
Learning Activity 5
At XYZ company, there were several problems with the company culture which contributed to the current financial situation it faces at the time of case publishing. It appears that the overall strucutre of the organization firstly was disparate and ad-hoc in much of its organizational structure. This was permissible for a good decade leading up to the financial downfall: staff could be overblown, marketing may operate in name only (as the case mentions that marketing was nearly non-existent). Sales departments, who had been responsible for much of the past viral success of the company as well as the major driving force of its profitability, likely were given prominence and priority in the overall corporate structure being that they were the main driver of the profits. The company also mentions needing to downsize its staff pool as well as implement quality assurance measures based on the knowledge that a whopping 3 percent of all products sent to market are found defective. This alone likely has strong residual effects in the reputation and long term health of the company, since product quality travels long and hard down tpipeline of networks.
Cultural forms that must be contended with include a lack of proper management overseeing departments, lack of coordination, failure of human resources to maintain ideal staff levels, failure of manufacturing management to implement quality assurance, failure of management to hire, retain and train employees with lower rates of error in production. There is also a problem in the company's fundamentals including the balance sheet and income statement concerning the financial health of the organization. Executive management as well as the board may be responsible ultimately for major financial decisions. At this point in time, the change management leader should begin the task first with hiring a new executive. The search process should be intricate and thorough in order to get the ideal man or woman for the job. Once this announcement is made and the executive joins, he or she should set to work immediately in developing a 60 day, 180 day and 360 day short term strategic plan that involves both finances and operations to overhaul the current defaults of the company. During this time the executive should work closely with management at all levels, requiring a minimal requirement for each management section in each department devise a report on strategy and profitability considerations that are pertaining exactly to the department in which they work. This information should be considered from the organizational level and will factor into the executive's formulation of strategy.
Learning Activity 6
Each of the interviewed senior leaders expressed the importance of having a keen understanding of the organization’s climate and culture and the knowledge needed as to how to shape and use them to enhance organizational performance and long-term vitality and viability. Clearly, as strategic leaders formulate their visions and strategies, they must take into account the organization’s culture. The question for leaders is to consider whether it will hurt, impede, or help the organizational and behavioral change required to to achieve sustained superior performance within a volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity environment. Organizational climate is often viewed as the personality of the organization. It is the feelings, tones, moods, attitudes, etc., whereas the culture represents the collective beliefs of the members, e.g., the assumptions, values, traditions, artifacts, and ethical understandings/practices of a group/subculture or the organization as a whole. Strategic leaders can have a major impact on long-term organizational climate and culture by what they emphasize, measure, and control. In general, strategic leaders can affect organizational climate by their leadership behavior and policies, whereas changing or influencing organizational culture takes significantly more time and effort. Organizational culture is a powerful force and is critical for the organization’s short- and long-term viability and success. Strategic leaders must recognize and have an appreciation for the climate and culture in which their organizations operate. They must also know how to recognize when culture needs to change, how it needs to be changed, and the best way to implement that change.
Learning Activity 7
There are three types of resistance to change in organizations which include logical (rational) resistance, psychological and emotional resistance as well as sociological resistance. Logical or rational resistance arise out of reasoned debates and discussions regarding change management implementations and principles. Resistance may be argued against by certain employees based on logical arguments of the anticipated trade-offs that exist when certain policies are implemented. The problem with change and which is a major hindrance to its smooth development unilaterally is that there are basic short run costs that have to be paid for before the change can be implemented. In other words, for any change to be implemented, the relative economic costs and benefits that are analyzed or anticipated, including the short run costs, are often protested against. Logical resistance might come about for change because of time required to adjust to new implementations, the costs and efforts involved with new learning, possibilities that conditions will be less desirable, as well as whether the change is feasible on a technical level Psychological and emotional change can come about in diverse ways. Any change will bring about feelings of vulnerability, the unknown, and uncharted territory in the mind. When these are not tempered by rational, controlling logical thought, they may erupt in raw emotional form. In a business setting, managers may likely find some of the over emotional responses by staff to be inappropriate and without justification. Efforts should be taken for management to adequately organize these thoughts, affirm them and help people process their emotions rather than stunting or shaming feelings. Sociological change resistance may come about through the conflicts that may erupt between different cliques or power structures that may form from within the organization. Political networks invariably will find themselves at opposition with one another and, depending on their destructive severity, will have a parochial and narrow outlook as a whole. People may engage in limited (hopefully) attempts to retain their own power through various forms of implicit or explicit corrosion.
Learning Activity 8
The structure and culture of an organization can have a significant impact on the implementation of change within the business (Alvesson and Sveningsson, 2008). A business that has a culture of commonality or taking things for granted will always struggle to adapt to change and may be less inclined to make dramatic changes (Alvesson and Sveningsson, 2008). An organization with a culture of entrepreneur ism is far more likely to seek change to improve the business and retain their competitive advantage. The literature available on organizational culture is vast. A mismatch between the efficiency and flexibility of an organization's culture can result in an inefficient business. It is essential to match up the skills and expectations of the team with the culture of the business to ensure that the business adapts to change effectively.
Hofstede et al (1990) claim that culture is the process of thinking about values and ideas, rather than concrete objectives. Organizational culture encourages the employees to perform well and increases commitment to the development of the business and its services (Wilderom et al, 2004). This will ultimately lead to excellence and success for the organization when implementing change (Sokro, 2012). Businesses pay a great deal of attention to understanding the culture of their organization and organizations are aware that an improved change in culture reflects well on the business and will improve performance (Sokro, 2012). Freemantle (2013) supports this and adds that leaders affect the culture within an vaporisation. Leaders are also pivotal in influencing those within the business and guiding them to ensure that their vision is achieved (Freemantle, 2013). It is important to recognize how an organization's culture allows change to be managed. The culture of a business and its employees has a great deal to do with the success of change.
The likelihood of businesses succeeding in change significantly increases when there is a strong culture in place. Freemantle (2013) warns organizations without a strong culture that this should be the number one development area for the business to develop. Freemantle (2013) also notes that whilst it is clear that a strong culture promotes change, there are other factors that are equally as important within a business.
References
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